[First of two parts]
Mary Joy De Vera of Barangay Dampalit in Malabon is a solo mom of a son and twin daughters. As a single parent, she finds it hard to augment the already small household income. When she gave birth to her twin daughters, De Vera found it hard to get back to work.
She felt restless — and useless — at home, so when she found out about a project called Pan De Ladies, it was an answered prayer for solo moms like her.
“I was very uneasy at home since I just had a difficult birth. But I desperately want to help my family, which is why I was really glad when the opportunity to join the Pan De Ladies came.”
Pan De Ladies is a livelihood program organized by the Malabon City Government that grouped together 150 women and solo parents. It encouraged these ladies to become entrepreneurs by selling the staple food of Filipinos: Pan de sal.
Solo parents, especially moms, are considered as one of the most neglected members of society. Acting both as breadwinner while taking care of the household and the kids, they give everything to their family and leave so little for themselves.
Malabon Mayor Lenlen Oreta recognized this problem and has launched a number of notable livelihood projects that empower solo moms. One of these projects is the Pan de Ladies.
Through a partnership with Malabon’s Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, which operates a bakery manned by inmates with baking experience, the City Hall of Malabon orders baked goods like pandesal, pan de coco and Spanish bread which the Pan De Ladies resell by going around their respective barangays.
Finding the first batch of ladies was done by tapping Malabon’s barangays. Officials went door to door, encouraging female solo parents to join a meeting so they can explain the project in detail. Then, they were able to enlist women, mostly solo moms, who all wanted to earn some extra income to augment their household income.
Each Pan de Lady was awarded a P1,000 starting capital and accessories like uniforms, a large styro box where they can store freshly-baked bread, and a trolley to make it easier for them to sell around the community.
[to be continued]